Modern Vespa

Hi,this is a follow up to my introduction post.
Do any members ride with a passenger on a 300GTS?,if so,can/is the GTS an enjoyable ride with a passenger?.

I just bought my GTS last year so I only have several hundred miles on it. My wife and I do ride it together on dining out or picnic runs. I'm 6'2 200lbs and the wife is 5'2 and let's say avg for a mature American woman. We fit fine and it seems to handle ok in its planned speed target (under 60) two up. Is it like my BMWRt or other larger bikes I once rode? No, and I am more comfortable alone when I can push back for the extra room but we comfy enough around town or rural roads in our area. I do need to get those passenger peg relocaters and I just put the top box on so she a more secure back stop. Does this help?

Pillion on GTS 300 eh?

It truly depends who you want to buddy up with. I am 6 2 and 225lbs and find a Vespa GT flat bench seat the better option for me and the pillion.

The scooter has done a great job of carrying my average sized lady friends without any problems other than short inside leg length requiring boots with a good heel. Urban or Freeway it was good to go.

When I took a male friend of an average build for a spin recently, no problem either but when it came to another lummox like me it struggled two up.

Horses for courses and this horse really did not like two lardasses on it. Ha ha!

You can play around with the rear suspension settings which helps but it felt light at the front at slow speed and a more wobbly at speed. I had to yank on the brakes to stop it in a timely manner too, so gave a bit more braking distance to traffic up front. Just to be safe.

I had a Triumph Bonnie 800 and that was a dream two up, whatever the passenger build.

Two fat bastards on a 270cc machine is stretching it somewhat but hey ho...people do it all the time in the UK travelling to rallies.

Safe riding friend

Thankyou,Gentlemen.I'll add a bit more info.
I'm 5'10" 170lbs & shrinking
My wife(passenger) is 5'3" & err 135lbs(ish) & not shrinking at the moment .
I never break the posted speed limit(knowingly),sometimes old age is an advantage ,plus i have a built in speed limiter,which feels a bit like somebody digging into my ribs if i go faster than normally permitted.
So 70mph is the maximum,but only on Motorways,60 everywhere else.
It would be usefull to be able to do 70 on the Motorway.
I'm not worried about room,i think we'd be ok,it's just the available power is as far as i can tell about 22bhp?,that dosen't sound much(& isn't nowadays)but our old Beetle is i believe 32bhp(from memory) & weighs a lot more than a Vespa & will carry 4 people.

Yes thanks,great,i'm just looking for enough of an excuse to have a legitimate reason for a test ride

Hi Old Rocker, I think a test ride is in order for you. You are really the only one who can make the judgement of course.

The GTS300ie, especially the later (2014+) ones with the 32bit ecu for better midrange power, are well able to carry pillions at motorway speeds. I carried a passenger on a mix of dual carriageways and motorways, with some 'A' roads for 190 miles. Most of the time I was cruising at 65-70mph without a problem, but took the opportunity to open her up at times and saw 77mph with ease. I'm talking genuine gps mph. Speedo was showing just over 80mph. These digital speedo's on the newer models are much more accurate. I'm 6'2" and 190lb and my passenger was 5'10" ish and 170lb. I didn't find hills on the motorways to be any sort of issue, losing almost no speed even on some of the long hills. So I wouldn't worry about the bikes ability. Just make sure to check your oil level before you set out and the engine coolant too. Raise the tyre pressures to the recommended level for pillion use. Next....HAVE FUN!

The answer as it so often it's that it depends. Several here have done long tiring trips 2 up on a GTS whole others discover that the day ass of AGtS isn't that comfortable for the pillion. For peg extensions help the side ass for placement problem for those with shorter inseams.

We occasionally ride 2 up to grab a coffee, ice cream or similar but generally we prefer to ride or own.

Personally I find the GTS very comfortable for riding. My wife on the other hand regards the pillion position as a form of torture.

I ride with my wife on my LX and my VLB pillion and she is 5'7" and average sized. I am 5' 9" and about 190. Both of my bikes are 150s and we have steep hills. I have no problem getting around. A 300 is MORE than enough power for 2up.

One thing you might want to keep in mind if you are going to carry someone and want to have a trunk, or topcase on the back is that some of the aftermarket ones sit fairly far forward and hit the passenger in the back, so they are not very comfortable. Another issue is that the rear footpegs are absolutely uncomfortable for a passenger for any length of time. There are adapters available for them too.

My wife and I rode two up on my 150 LXV with no problem.

I decided to get a 300 GTS SS shortly afterward, and it has more than enough power to move us around.

I installed the Cupini backrest and my wife loves having that to keep her on the scooter. She's only 5'-4" so I got the foot peg extenders which were absolutely crucial for her comfort.

The top box with a pad extends a little more forward and robs a little bit more room than the Cupini backrest.

^^^

I have ridden miles two-up on a 150 with no problem.

Not so many on the GTS 300 due to circumstances, just the occasional rally long ride. Again, no problem. The scooter takes hills in its stride. The topcase/back rest provides comfort to the passenger. Her arms around me provides comfort to the rider.

I guess the footrests are the only issue.

Well it looks as though the general opinion is,the GTS is ok for a passenger,in terms of performance(given its power output),a few comments about back rests & footrest extensions,but we have a Harley,so i'm used to spending fortunes to "make it yours"
First thing is to try & get a demo ride & see how i/we feel about the change from a bike to a Vespa,then check out comfort bits.
I appreciate all the advice & comments.
O.R.

I can tell you the Vespa will feel smaller but the ride is much smoother and a lot more comfortable with the proper accouterments.

Accouterments

I once won an argument about "what are we going to do today?" and rather than walk around shopping for more crap we don't need in London we went London - Brighton - London 2 up. It didn't go well.

I set the sat nav to avoid motorways thinking we would go on the nice rural roads the London - Brighton cycle ride uses. Wrong. From Vauxhall to the M25 through Brixton/Croydon (no offence Brixtonions or people from Croyden) wasn't brilliant and then the A23. The A23 isn't technically a motorway but a dual carriageway at 70mph is for all practical purposes a motorway. Kids in the back of Megane Scenics were pointing and laughing at us in our shorts and trainers on the "motorway".

My partner hasn't been on the scoot since that fateful day.

The scoot can handle it, no problem, my partners problem was that he was mortified with embarrassment at being laughed at. It's not particularly dignified on a UK motorway being pegged wide open and only just managing to keep up.

Our other transport is a Porsche which doesn't suffer the same problem.

Plenty more fish in the sea.

My wife and I are about the size as you and yours. I'm 5'9" 165 and she is 5'4" 130. I did put Bitubo shocks on and a PM pipe. We ride the GTS two up all the time. Much more comfortable than our Duc. In fact she will only ride pillion on the Vespa. We also have a Malossi kitted Fly 150 and that is just fine for the two of us around town.

Take care

Well that tells me that we will find another route than the A23 when we visit Brighton on rental scooters in May. OTOH, I ride my GTS on the freeways and over 70mph regularly but the looks I get are more incredulous than laughing.

Thanks,i've decided to try & find a GTS to demo ride,in fact i made a detour on a trip today to go to "Liverpool Aprilia",i don't know what i did wrong but i couldn't find the place & the website add. is a main road into Liverpool from Bootle,it must be well hidden

Cdwise,can i ask have you done any riding or driving in the UK before?
The reason i ask is we've done a lot of riding in the Tn,Ky,Al area & often hear comments about the bad car driving antics,but compared to the UK it is heaven on earth for riding,in every way.
Hope i'm not teaching my granny to suck eggs,but please take care.
Our roads(especially down South) are full of idiots who seem to think they are in a race with every other road user(especially motorcycles) & have lost all driving courtesy & consideration.
Of course this is only my view & it could just be an age thing.
But one of the reasons a Vespa appears attractive is,it may not be considered a threat to there superior driving prowess & not attract the same attitudes,although i expect to be wrong.

Speed up or get off the sidewalk!!

They can get you easier on the pavement(sidewalk)

Both my husband and I have driven in the UK before. My primary residence is Houston, TX which has serious traffic where many folks tell us they'd never ride a motorcycle much less a scooter there. We recently rode in Sydney with Bobo which is another heavy traffic and left side of the road place with worse traffic than I've seen in London.

From what I've seen I don't think the drivers in the UK are all that bad. I've seen and ridden around worse. I will admit that driving I'm not a fan of "C" roads in the UK due to their width but on two wheels not a problem. Just heard back from the place we are renting and they've reserved a pair of anniversary edition GTS 300s for us. Who knows maybe we'll meet up with you when we head to Hazel Grove.

Tenn, KY and Alabama drivers aren't bad just a bit more "country".